On Sat, May 05, 2001 at 01:16:08PM -0700, Karsten M. Self wrote:
> on Sat, May 05, 2001 at 03:58:41PM -0400, Michael P. Soulier (msoulier@storm.ca) wrote:
> > On Sat, May 05, 2001 at 01:39:24PM -0400, Glenn Becker wrote:
> > >
> > > Will any PC-compatible printer do? What are the considerations, here?
> >
> > Anything that speaks PCL really. I'm using an HP DeskJet 812C, and it
> > works perfectly with ghostscript for postscript conversion, using a filter
> > from magicfilter.
>
> "PCL" is not a standard specification, AFAIC, it stands for "printer
> control language", and I believe it varies by printer.
>
> I'm not certain of this and would appreciate clarification.
PCL is HP's printer control language. It's what LaserJet I, II, and
III models speak natively.
LaserJet 4 and 5 models were a mix ... some had built in Postscript,
some spoke PCL. Newer HPs seem to speak Postcript but can fall back
to PCL.
Having said that, PCL is a "standard" in the sense that it's a
language. It's the next best alternative to Postscript IMO (though
it does tie you to HP. As far as printers go that's not all bad).
--
Nathan Norman - Staff Engineer | A good plan today is better
Micromuse Ltd. | than a perfect plan tomorrow.
mailto:nnorman@micromuse.com | -- Patton